Most experts discourage the use of clip art. I agree that clip art, as is, is often too complex for presentations. That doesn’t mean you can’t use them-at least, parts of them. You can easily dissect most clip art and use individual pieces.

The following figure shows part of a clip art file, copied a few times. The effect is a slide full of confetti. Not bad for clip art-but it doesn’t much resemble the original file.

Grabbing just the pieces you want is easier than you might think. First, you insert the clip art into a slide. Then, you convert it so you can ungroup the objects, as follows:

  1. You might want to increase the size of the graphic a bit. It’ll be easier to work with.
  2. Right-click the clip art and choose Group.
  3. Then, select Ungroup from the resulting submenu.
  4. Click Yes when PowerPoint prompts you to convert the imported picture file.
  5. Repeat steps 1 through 3 and PowerPoint will select the individual objects.
  6. Click anywhere outside the picture to clear the multiple-object selection.

With the individual objects selectable, you can make just about any change you’d like. For instance, to delete the cake, select the objects that belong to the cake and press Delete. It might take several steps and be careful not to accidentally snag something you want to keep.

With the cake gone, you can copy and paste individual confetti components, randomly. (That’s a little tedious, but if you have the time and inclination, you can do it!) A quicker route is to regroup the objects and paste it as a whole picture, overlapping and changing the orientation of each paste to create a tossed-in-the-air effect. You could also enlarge the file to fill the entire slide. Don’t be afraid to experiment; you can always use [Ctrl]+Z to undo your changes.